Will playing sick work for awhile?
Hello. I am new to this forum.
Now that the holidays are here, I am getting on the verge of losing my mind with the ongoing collection calls and collection letters, so I was just wondering do you think I would have any luck answering all of the calls, pretending that I am a family friend (checking the mail and telephone calls), and the person that they are looking for has been in the hospital the last two months and is gravely ill? Do you think that would at least maybe buy me some time & peace, just until the first of the year? I have a telephone voice disguise gizmo, where I can change the voice speaking through my phone to a young child, a woman, or a man with a deep voice. Yet since one company is calling a family member looking for me, I have to try to put a stop to that problem as well. Yet bottomline, do you think this plan (trying to fool my creditors into thinking that I am in the hospital in grave condition) will buy me some time & peace?
At this point, there is no need to read the rest of my post, UNLESS you want to know the background of my problem. However if you can give me an answer to my question in the above paragraph, that is all I need. Thank you.
If you want to read a little background of my problems, please do. I know that my first posting is very wordy, but I just need somebody to talk to that has or is going through a financial crises like me.
I am over 6 months past due on several credit cards (AmEx, Citi, Chase, B of A, Wells Fargo). Thus far, I have been getting the usual collection calls and collection letters for over the past 6 months. However this month, some of my accounts have been turned over to the “PitBull” collection agencies. The way that I know about the “PitBull” collection agencies is because of two things . . . 1. These people (just this month) are leaving messages that they are calling to collect a debt (whereas before, none of the messages from the original creditors were every that specific or explicit over the past 6 months). 2. Upon checking out the phone numbers (via my caller ID) on Google and seeing the “800 notes, who called us, who calls me” listings, there are fairly current comments listed of how mean, harsh, rude, and nasty these 2nd string collection companies were to the people who posted comments when they actually talked with these companies. So these are the same new collectors that are now calling and leaving demanding messages for me. Yet basically I have taken the advice on this board (since about 5 months ago) of not answering the phone and letting the collectors leave a message. Today, one of the “PitBull” companies that only just started calling on Monday and Tuesday, just called me this morning and left a demanding message saying that if I did not return their call today, that they are going to turn my file over to their pre-legal department.
Since it is the holiday season, I am almost totally broke, since I was self-employed, was living off of my savings. Yet since I was self-employed, I could not qualify for unemployment benefits. Yet now that the 2nd string of “PitBull” collectors are starting to call, I just am having a difficult time “mentally” trying to get to the end of the year. I am so down and depressed all of the time. Yet I have been unsuccessful trying to find a job over the past 6 months. It really is bad out there. So all I can get is part-time work, where I end up making minimum wage, with only being offered 6 to 8 hours worth of work per week. Yet I am so broke now, I can not even afford a BK lawyer to help me. Otherwise I would I would get a lawyer on retainer, to try to put a stop to the collection calls and letters madness. I live in Los Angeles, but I have not been able to find a lawyer that will do a BK pro bono. Yet out of curiosity, what happens when you get hit with a string of lawsuits, that you can not afford an BK lawyer? Right now, I know that if the "PitBull" collectors can not get any satisfaction, that the lawsuits will soon be on the horizon.
Now that the holidays are here, I am getting on the verge of losing my mind with the ongoing collection calls and collection letters, so I was just wondering do you think I would have any luck answering all of the calls, pretending that I am a family friend (checking the mail and telephone calls), and the person that they are looking for has been in the hospital the last two months and is gravely ill? Do you think that would at least maybe buy me some time & peace, just until the first of the year? I have a telephone voice disguise gizmo, where I can change the voice speaking through my phone to a young child, a woman, or a man with a deep voice. Yet since one company is calling a family member looking for me, I have to try to put a stop to that problem as well. Yet bottomline, do you think this plan (trying to fool my creditors into thinking that I am in the hospital in grave condition) will buy me some time & peace?
At this point, there is no need to read the rest of my post, UNLESS you want to know the background of my problem. However if you can give me an answer to my question in the above paragraph, that is all I need. Thank you.
If you want to read a little background of my problems, please do. I know that my first posting is very wordy, but I just need somebody to talk to that has or is going through a financial crises like me.
I am over 6 months past due on several credit cards (AmEx, Citi, Chase, B of A, Wells Fargo). Thus far, I have been getting the usual collection calls and collection letters for over the past 6 months. However this month, some of my accounts have been turned over to the “PitBull” collection agencies. The way that I know about the “PitBull” collection agencies is because of two things . . . 1. These people (just this month) are leaving messages that they are calling to collect a debt (whereas before, none of the messages from the original creditors were every that specific or explicit over the past 6 months). 2. Upon checking out the phone numbers (via my caller ID) on Google and seeing the “800 notes, who called us, who calls me” listings, there are fairly current comments listed of how mean, harsh, rude, and nasty these 2nd string collection companies were to the people who posted comments when they actually talked with these companies. So these are the same new collectors that are now calling and leaving demanding messages for me. Yet basically I have taken the advice on this board (since about 5 months ago) of not answering the phone and letting the collectors leave a message. Today, one of the “PitBull” companies that only just started calling on Monday and Tuesday, just called me this morning and left a demanding message saying that if I did not return their call today, that they are going to turn my file over to their pre-legal department.
Since it is the holiday season, I am almost totally broke, since I was self-employed, was living off of my savings. Yet since I was self-employed, I could not qualify for unemployment benefits. Yet now that the 2nd string of “PitBull” collectors are starting to call, I just am having a difficult time “mentally” trying to get to the end of the year. I am so down and depressed all of the time. Yet I have been unsuccessful trying to find a job over the past 6 months. It really is bad out there. So all I can get is part-time work, where I end up making minimum wage, with only being offered 6 to 8 hours worth of work per week. Yet I am so broke now, I can not even afford a BK lawyer to help me. Otherwise I would I would get a lawyer on retainer, to try to put a stop to the collection calls and letters madness. I live in Los Angeles, but I have not been able to find a lawyer that will do a BK pro bono. Yet out of curiosity, what happens when you get hit with a string of lawsuits, that you can not afford an BK lawyer? Right now, I know that if the "PitBull" collectors can not get any satisfaction, that the lawsuits will soon be on the horizon.
Closed November 2010
341 on September 23 
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